No-contact order for two Allegan County waterways now lifted after February manure spill

ALLEGAN COUNTY, MI -- County health officials have lifted a no-contact advisory for Bear Creek and parts of the Rabbit River after a February liquid manure spill from a nearby farm.

The advisory was issued Feb. 17 because of risk for high bacteria levels following the discovery of a stormwater system failure at the Schaendorf dairy farm in Monterey Township.

Investigators determined a valve failed between the farm's stormwater system and a large open-air lagoon holding manure, Washburn said. The valve failure resulted in manure backing up in the stormwater pipes. It seeped into Bear Creek, which feeds the Rabbit River, a tributary of the Kalamazoo River that ends up in Lake Michigan.

Allegan County Health Department officials say water samples collected March 24, both upstream and downstream from the spill, showed bacteria levels were no longer significant.